I don't think it is pedantic to state that aluminum oxynitride is clearly not aluminum. This material, while it sounds super interesting is almost-certainly no

I don't think it is pedantic to state that aluminum oxynitride is clearly not aluminum. This material, while it sounds super interesting is almost-certainly not a metal. Furthermore, among aluminum's key properties is its machineability. This stuff sounds like it would destroy an end mill or shatter. It is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to make a transparent metal. If charge-carriers are free to move, a defining property of a metal, then they will move in response to the electromagnetic field of a light wave. That movement will act to either attenuate or reflect the light wave.